Need some help deciding: Both get great reviews, IMO the Grosche looks nicer and I'm leaning towards that, but I have no real experience with a french press. anyone have any suggestions/recommendations?

I bought a french press last year and did the same thing you're doing now. For me, it comes down to two components:

1. Capacity. I drink about 4 cups a day, and my wife usually has one or two cups, so 12 ounces does just fine for me. I did find, however, when I have people over and I make coffee, I need to fuss with making several batches. I was ok with leaving my drip maker on the counter, so the 12 cup capacity was just fine.

2. Material. You need to eliminate the plastics right away; if you're using this every day, you will be pouring 200+ degree water into a cold glass beaker and will see small breaks in the plastic construction. Just stay away. The metal cage will wear better, cleans nicely, and handles temperature and moisture well. If you prefer to leave coffee in your press instead of using a separate carafe, you could consider a stainless carafe. I have seen some ceramics, but ceramic is porous and usually not smooth enough to prevent some grounds from escaping your screen.

Based on this, the first one will serve you well. I ended up with a Chambord, which is practically the same thing. Had it almost a year, still in great shape.

The grind is absolutely the most important part of the press. So the real question... what kind of grinder are you going to use?

I usually have 2 or 3 cups a week on the weekend. I like to enjoy it and the kuerig isn't cutting it. It's been a while since I've grinded my own beans, had some market district Sumatra in a press over the weekend & really liked it. Next step would be a grinder and beans or just stick with something already grinded

In unfiltered brewing methods, including French press, boiled methods such as Turkish coffee, and espresso, the oils remain in your coffee. It gives better flavor, but also leaves all the cafestol in it, so your cholestorol gets the full impact. (Note, in Scandanavia, where they first noticed the cafestol effect, the typical coffee brewing method is a boiled method). Cafetol is highest in Turkish coffee type brews, next highest is French press, followed by espresso.

I'm thinking about getting the 25lb (whole or ground) sack which has free shipping. Just need to get some airtight storage bins to keep it fresh.

this can be just as important... strike that, more important than the press you get. I'm lucky that there's a shop in downtown SC that roasts their own stuff. It's great.

Letang Is The Truth wrote:One study found that 10 milligrams of cafestol (or four 5-ounce cups of French-press coffee) may raise cholesterol by 8 to 10 percent in four weeks.

Another study found that you'd have to drink 5 cups of french press coffee a day for a month to see a 6-8% increase in cholesterol levels. French press in most cases is not something you make and drink throughout the day. It's more likely a special occasions thing for most people, or maybe that's just me.